Futility
by Angel1876
Summary: In the end, there was no point to standing up to them. He knew that, but with everything that was at stake, he couldn't afford not to try. After the battle, he sits and waits for everything to end, but the more time goes on the more he realizes things aren't playing out the way he thought they would.
1. Chapter 1

It was a difficult battle. From this fact alone he could tell that the kid had been at this for a while, dodging most of his blows with the casual air that only comes with endless practice. He threw everything he had at them, bringing the temperature of the room down to below freezing as a glowing mist curled in the air around his eye. Bone after bone forming to rush at his target, each meant to deliver a fatal blow, each draining a little more energy from him.

A creeping unease twisted at his core the more the fight wore on. Would this be the timeline in which he failed?

He'd known going into this what the likely outcome was. Hell, technically it had already happened, if their readings were anything to go off of. While he could make this difficult, make them angry, frustrate them to no end by standing in their way, he had his limits, and he was going against someone who could come back an unlimited amount of times. Eventually, they would learn how to overpower him, and then it would be over.

The underlying question throughout all this was why was he even bothering to try?

The answer, of course, was because he'd no other choice.

If he could get them to change their mind before they reached Asgore, then there was still hope that everything would be alright, that they could learn to be a good person, like his brother so claimed. Despite the violence, he still believed they could change, an echo of Papyrus's dying words. Everyone who'd been reduced to dust could come back, a fresh start, and none of this would have had to happen.

If he couldn't get them to stop, if they defeated him and finished their deadly sweep of the underground, then they really couldn't change, and what happened here would always have happened.

That was what made him take his stand despite the hopelessness he faced.

He was starting to grow tired, and he was starting to grow desperate. Sans steeled himself, and he delivered what would have to be his last attack. Finally they faltered, and he struck true, their soul coming apart under the weight of his magic. Their body hit the ground, and so did he, brought to his knees where he stood. Ice coated the hall around him, sharp spikes lacing the pillars, soft blue like the fading glow in his eye.

They'd come so close to beating him.

There was nothing more for him to do, now. Nothing more than to wait for them to reset. With a sigh, he pulled himself back up onto his feet, the flames in his sockets white and dim with exhaustion. Sans let his gaze linger on the fallen human a moment more, before turning, and walking away. A flash, and he was on the other side of the underground. Snowdin, of course. Where else could he go but Grillby's?

It wasn't the same as it was before all this started. His footsteps were hollow, echoing through the little bar, empty of people and empty of music. The bartender was gone, of course, evacuated with the rest of the monsters. That was fine. He knew where the ketchup was, and it wasn't like it was going to matter if he took it, anyway.

He sat at his usual chair, tipping the bottle back and giving the bottle a little shake to coax its contents out. Swallowing, he put it back down, and leaned heavily against the counter, let his eyes close and his breathing slow. Sans didn't expect to wake up. This timeline would soon end, and what he was in that moment would cease to exist. Maybe the next version of himself would be able to get through to them.

The blanket of sleep fell over him, thick and heavy, dissolving his thoughts and leaving him blissfully unaware of the world around him.

Yet he wasn't out forever. He came back into himself slowly at first, the weight of his own body coaxing him back to reality. Then his memories returned with a flash, and he saw them, that smile, a knife in their hand as they lunged for him. The chair clattered to the ground as he fell back, jerking away from the counter so hard that he brought himself crashing to the floor. Cold mist leaked from his eye, he scrambled up onto his feet, every sound bouncing back to him as he struggled to come to terms with where he was.

Still at Grillby's.

There was no clock in the bar. How long had he slept? It couldn't have been for that long. He huffed, standing to put the chair back in its place, to sit back down. Picking his bottle up again, he drained more of its contents, until it was empty and he had to go and grab another one.

Soon enough, that bottle, too, was empty, and he found himself resting against the counter once more. A second full nap later, and he opened his eyes to find that not a thing had changed.

If he could have frowned, he would have. Unfortunately, nothing could wipe that grin off his face.

He knew for a fact that timelines did not just keep going once a reset happened. That's not how it worked. The only thing this could mean was that they hadn't gone back to try the battle again, nor had they gone back all the way to start anew.

Fingers tapped against the edge of the bar, a sort of restlessness worming in, chasing away the need for rest, at least in the short term. It'd been a few hours, at the very least.

A third bottle of ketchup later, and he knew for a fact something was up. Were they doing this to spite him? No, that wouldn't get them anywhere. Even if they were doing this to hurt him, he'd have no memory of this when they tried anew. Were they finally considering his words?

...had they done this before? Did it always take this long? It didn't seem like it should take this long.

For lack of a couch, he chose to lay down in one of the booths. It was softer and less straining on his joints than the chair. Sans draped an arm over his face, and let himself drift off.

Drift off, only to wake again later, and nothing had changed at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Over a day passed, and he was still there. That was more than enough waiting, the skeleton decided. With some of his strength returned and the restaurant's ketchup supply more than halved, Sans returned to the judgement hall.

By then, the room had defrosted. Given the nature of the ice that once coated it, there were no puddles of water left behind. Everything was dry, as if the fight between himself and the human never happened. That change was expected. What wasn't expected was the fact that the child's body was gone.

A chill stabbed through him, the flames in his eyes sparking with alarm, the suggestion of blue starting to flare up in his left socket. He made a quick jump, throwing himself toward Asgore's castle, only to find the man tending to his garden. The goat monster looked up at him, a deep voice rumbling out, "Howdy. Are you the one the flower told me about...?"

He was fine. The king was fine, so the barrier hadn't been touched.

"Please. We don't have to fight. Perhaps you'd like to come in and discuss things over tea?"

Sans didn't respond. He didn't stick around long enough for Asgore to ask any further questions, blinking out of sight to reappear back in the judgement hall. They can't have disappeared. Wherever they were, they had to be somewhere between the castle and the other end of the Underground. Not exactly a small area to search, but if they were still up and wandering about, he had to find them.

He'd shattered their soul, they should be dead, their determination would have caused a reset, not reanimate a corpse. Besides, if they were alive, why didn't they continue toward the barrier? If they weren't, who could have moved them?

After checking behind each and every pillar, Sans started to make his way back toward Snowdin the long way, by walking. Through the parts of Hotland that hadn't been cut off from the rest of the Underground, down toward Waterfall. Every step he took rang hollow, kindling the sense of emptiness, of isolation. Everything he'd ever known was gone, and the shell that was left behind was coated in a layer of dust.

And make no mistake, there was a layer of dust. It was thick enough that he could see his own path outlined behind himself when he looked back. Thick enough that he could see footprints trailing ahead of him, too. Made it easier for him to follow them, if nothing else.

He pulled the scarf tighter around himself, held it close. Held the only thing he'd had left of his brother, as if he could keep Papyrus walking beside him if he did. He wanted the cloth to make him feel like he wasn't alone, but all it did was remind him of what he'd lost.

Through Waterfall, and into Snowdin. The snow covered up the dust, which was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, he didn't have to look at the remains of fallen monsters anymore, while on the other, it meant he didn't have a clear cut path to follow anymore. He made a stop by Grillby's, and after that, his house. Then the workshop behind the house. Then every other building in town.

Nobody came, and so he went into the forest.

They must have gone past him while he slept. Must not have thought to go in the bar... which meant that they probably were never friends to begin with, as much as he wanted to believe otherwise. If they'd known anything about him, that would have been the first place they would have looked. That was fine, he should have been expecting it considering their behavior. Why kill everyone they were once close to?

All that meant was that his efforts to talk them down were based on a false assumption.

He went by puzzles they didn't even try to solve. Past the forest and past the bridge, all the way back to the one door he could never go past. It was there that he found them. The lack of footprints leading up to where they lay and the scattering of snow on top of them told him they'd been there for at least a few hours. They lay on their side, curled up. Clearly not dead, because as he approached, announcing his presence through the rhythmic crunch of his feet against the icy ground, they opened their eyes.

Teeth gritting, he raised his hand, dragging the kid out of the snow, their soul easily separated and both held aloft several feet in the air. His tone was just as casual as it was during their earlier fight. "heh. well, this is new. guess i didn't give you as bad a time as i thought. maybe we should fix that."

Truth be told, he had no way of knowing whether or not this has happened before, but nothing wrong with bluffing if it meant scaring them. The magic draining out of his socket and the ever harsher cold wasn't a bluff, however. He raised them higher, bones appearing behind him, ready to slam them downward and attack while they were dazed. A sharp cry left their throat, and they curled into a ball.

A quick motion, half frantic, they formed a fist with their right hand, and drew it in a circular pattern over their heart. The organ, not the glowing soul floating some feet away.

Sans paused, taking in the movement.

Sign language. It meant sorry.

"sorry, kid? you think that's enough?"

They repeated the gesture, once, twice more, entire body shaking. He stared up at them, arm still raised, noting how they kept their gaze at the ground, not on him nor the weapons he was ready to impale them with. This...was not how they were acting before.

Something was up. They made no move to attack him, they weren't even struggling to get free.

He'd have believed a trap, and he didn't entirely discount it, but he'd also seen their soul destroyed. That same soul hovered outside of them now, just as red and undamaged as it was before.

Seconds ticked by, silence between them as Sans considered his options.

"why should i spare you?" he asked.

"Sorry."

"that's not a reason, kid."

He'd offered them a chance at regret before, would have taken their mercy and responded with a fast death to send them back in the hopes they'd create a new timeline. Maybe they were faking it, to try and get in close to him, deliver the fatal blow they'd been after from the start, but if they were, why now? Why not back then?

Was this real?

He could just kill them here and now. That was the plan, had always been the plan, but they'd gotten so close to beating him...he couldn't ignore a change. He had to see this through, because if something was different, then he couldn't risk undoing it through oversight.

Sans supposed he would just have to keep his guard up.

The bones disappeared first, and then he gently lowered the child back onto the ground. He let his eyes go back to normal as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Watching as they sat there, hugging their knees to their chest, teeth chattering loud enough he could hear it from where he stood.

"..." He let out a slow breath through his teeth. "all right. let me level with ya. snow way we're going to be able to chat out here. might as well go somewhere warm, yeah?"

Grillby's. Of course.

He waited for them to stand before he started walking, keeping a measure of distance between himself and them.


	3. Chapter 3

Funny enough, having the kid with him didn't make him feel any better about how empty the bar was.

He motioned for them to take a seat, before going into the kitchen. Would it have to go on his tab if he made it himself? He supposed the food itself would cost something, though at the very least he should get a discount for saving the bartender the time and effort it took to cook the thing. Sans wasn't the best chief, but the hamburger and fries were both eatable. He made hot chocolate while he was at it, and brought both back out into the restaurant.

They flinched when they saw him. A yelp and a jolt so harsh they almost fell out of their seat. As if he hadn't noticed, he slid both food and drink their way.

"here...on the house."

There were no chairs on this side of the bar, but there was a counter between them, and he didn't want to risk falling asleep should he sit for too long. He'd just have to deal with standing. Ketchup bottle in hand, he fell silent, giving them a chance to get comfortable, giving himself a chance to observe. It took a moment for them to reach for the food, a french fry taken from the pile, then a swig of their drink.

Once they got going, they ate quickly. All that knife swinging must be hungry work.

They didn't look like they'd been going around attacking people, aside from their dust covered clothes. In fact, now that they weren't an active threat they looked like they were just a kid.

Sans didn't say anything until they'd slowed down, waiting until their hands weren't busy anymore before he spoke.

"so, now that you're not gonna freeze over on me," he said, "care to tell me why you changed your mind about fighting?"

It was easy to slip into lighthearted puns, though he doubted they'd be letting down their guard anymore than he was. Even so, he put up a small and harmless font. Weakest monster in the Underground, that was him.

"I didn't change my mind. I never wanted to fight you."

Again, they used sign, and he switched to sign himself in response. ""then why did you keep coming back?"

"I'm sorry."

"how many times did you come back?"

They didn't answer. Innocently worded as it was, what he was actually asking was how many times had they died. How many times he'd killed them. How long had they been at this. He wasn't too convinced that this wasn't some sort of deception on their part, but keeping things chill would help either way. If the kid meant no harm, best not antagonize them. If they were lying to catch him off guard, best they think it's working.

He'll ask again, "if you didn't want to fight me, why did you?"

"I..." They got halfway through a sign, and then stopped. "I'm sorry, Sans."

"kid," he said out loud, his voice relaxed, but even so they flinched, hands moving a tad faster before he could finish his sentence.

"I wanted to save Flowey."

"Flowey?" He'd never met a monster in his life that went by that name.

They went on, "I wanted to save him, so I went back, but something went wrong. I'm sorry Sans, I was trying to help, I didn't know..." Tears formed, hands trembling until they stopped to wipe at their face."I can't go back. I don't know what to do."

"i don't follow. try starting from the beginning."

The crying seemed real. They took a breath to steady themselves. "I saved everyone else but I couldn't save Flowey, so I started over to try and find a way. I wasn't alone this time. They were a part of me and I couldn't get them out. They were angry with everyone."

"who's they?"

"...Chara."

Chara? "the king and queen's adopted child?"

"Flowey's sibling...Asriel's sibling. Flowey is Asriel. If I save him then mom and Asgore can be happy."

He paused to digest this information, but they started signing again.

"I need to go back. I can fix this if I go back, but it's not happening this time. I don't know why."

"why would they do this? i thought they liked monsters. not very nice of them to give us all the cold shoulder." He let out a chuckle. It didn't help either of them.

The kid shook their head. "They don't like anyone. Maybe they did a long time ago but they don't now. I tried to stop them. I'm sorry. I thought..."

"you know, you don't have to keep apologizing..."

They didn't see that last sentence. Their conversation broken by a sob, which followed another, until they had their face buried in their arms against the bar.

He didn't trust this. There was nothing about this he trusted. He didn't understand why they were doing this, but for now, he would humor them.

He...very slowly, so they couldn't mistake it for an attack, rest a hand on top of their hand. A simple, familial pat. They responded by grabbing his wrist, holding on tight, as if he were their last lifeline. Between a spark of panic and a surge of sympathy, he wasn't sure which was more unnerving. He searched his mind, trying to find any reason at all to lie about this, and he could find none, besides getting in an opening for an attack.

Sans waited for the blow to come, the flash of metal, ready to dodge if he had to...but they sat there. A scared, crying child. One who, somewhere, once upon a time, he'd made a promise to protect.

Had they been friends at some point, after all?

The lights in his eyes were dim, faint fires that almost gave way to darkness. "it's okay, kiddo." He said. "if something's broken, maybe we can fix it?"

If they were telling the truth, then they had to try.

He'd just keep an eye on them while they worked.


	4. Chapter 4

"so what did you do to reset all the other times?"

Due to the weather outside, they remained in the bar, though he no longer had a counter standing between him and the human. Instead, they stood at the center of the room, him watching them as they fidgeted with their sleeves.

"I just...concentrated, and it happened."

"and it's not working anymore."

"No."

"try."

Their mouth pressed into a thin line. Eyes closed. Focused. They wrapped their arms in close to their chest, and stayed very still for well over a minute. It was obvious when they looked back up at him that it wasn't happening.

"i don't suppose the old plan is gonna work. would you be able to reset if i killed you?"

There was no nice way to phrase that, but he tried. Made himself as relaxed as possible, stood off to the side a bit, trying to appear nonthreatening. It wasn't supposed to be a threat, but an honest question. As expected, though, they still flinched away, stepping back. "No! No I still won't be able to reset, please don't!"

He nodded. Held his palms up in a pacifying manor before signing, "Okay, kid. We'll find something else."

Once again, their reaction felt genuine. Not a ploy.

Of course, he couldn't imagine a lack of some level of fear. He'd killed them before. That had to have some sort of effect, particularly since it must have happened several times, and unlike him, they must have their memories of the other timelines.

He decided to move on from the subject of resets for the moment.

"here's a question. how are you still here? you weren't alive after the end of our fight, what happened?"

"I don't know." Pause. "I think you killed Chara. Just Chara."

"i was getting you both before?"

"Yes."

Just Chara. Something had gone wrong for them this time around, evidently. "and you were able to reset just fine before they showed up?"

The human nodded.

He tilted his head, regarding them, keeping the lights in his eyes bright. "mind if i take a look at your soul then? see if i can tell what's going on?"

They hugged themself again, a pause. Hesitation. He waited, again, not wanting to cause a fight through aggravation. When they lowered their arms, gave a little nod, he proceeded with a slow and lazy air. No sudden movements here. He tugged their soul out and gave it a proper look over.

It was bright red, the same shade as the one he'd shattered, though he supposed their similarity was why Chara was able to take over in the first place. It was also much...much dimmer. A glowing heart, yes, but it wasn't glowing brightly.

"...seems you're a bit low on determination, kid." With a flick of his wrist, he put their soul back. "you need that in order to affect the timeline."

They stiffened. Already on edge, and now further still. Their eyes were wide as they signed, "Then Flowey can reset."

"asriel?"

"Asriel said he had the power to reset before I fell, but then I got it from him because I had more determination." They glanced away from him, behind them, as if they expected this flower to be sitting somewhere in the bar. "He told me...he told Chara...what he did before I came."

"i take it that it's not something pleasant."

"If he was able to reset, he should have done it by now." Something shifted in their demeanor. A flicker of guilt mingling with their unease. "...he was afraid the last time I saw him. He was afraid Chara would kill him."

Ah. A flash of realization. "he tried to warn the king. asgore mentioned a flower..."

So they were telling the truth.

They'd been possessed by the soul of a ghost. A ghost who, for whatever reason, wanted to kill everything. The child of the king and queen. He thought back to that, back to the entire ordeal. Their death from the flowers they'd eaten the following attack on Asriel when he'd tried to return the body to the surface. Had...had that been on purpose...? Did they want to start a war?

Didn't exactly paint a favorable picture of the adopted royal, did it?

"so looks like that's our next step. let's go give our best flower bud a visit."


	5. Chapter 5

The difference between searching the Underground for a human and searching the underground for a flower was that humans were much, much easier to find. A simple sweep from one end to the other was enough to do it. Flowers, though, tended to blend in with their surroundings. Not to mention they were much smaller than humans, even young ones.

Which meant that they were going through the entire place multiple times. Searching every building, every nook and cranny.

The human trailed along behind him, hugging themself. Head down, looking more and more forlorn each time they went from Snowdin to Waterfall, where the frost cuts off and the sea of dust begins.

Sans kept in mind that neither of them could enter the ruins, and he also kept in mind that unless he wanted a battle on his hands, they couldn't meet the king under any circumstances. That left both the very start and the very end of the cavern off limits, not to mention that rather sizable chunk of the Hotlands that Alphys and the surviving monsters had fled to. It wasn't out of the question that the flower was in one of those places, which would make finding him even more difficult.

He could see that the kid was starting to slow down on their third run.

Given that he'd killed them a number of times before, given that he'd broken that weak and lazy facade in this timeline and in several others, he did not expect a favorable answer, but he might as well ask anyway. "hey, you seem to be getting a bit tired there, kiddo. i could lend a hand. carry you until you can get back on your feet."

So he was surprised when the human nodded.

He stopped walking, turned back to them. Stared at them hard. Briefly considered changing his mind, since carrying them meant they'd be close enough to get a hit in...but...

With a sigh, he opened his arms, inviting them to come. When they approached, he picked them up, using his coat to act as a buffer between soft skin and harsh, sharp bone. Keeping them cradled against his chest, he kept walking. He hopped they'd find the flower soon, this was getting to be tiring.

Luckily, the kid wasn't that heavy. They were rather small, actually, and he was reminded in that moment that he was dealing with a child. Not an easy thing to remember when they were dusting everyone he knew and loved, or when they held their own against his strongest attacks, but they were a child. And maybe they were telling the truth. It seemed like they were telling the truth.

He didn't believe that the kid he was carrying was the one who killed everyone. The nagging fear was there, he had his doubts, but he was leaning more toward their explanation than not.

"Hey."

They both almost jumped clean out of their skin. Well, the human did at least. He didn't have much skin to jump out of.

"...well. looks like you found us first. asriel, right?"

He turned to face him. The human curled up tighter in his arms, a hand clinging onto his jacket.

Sans wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting, but what he saw matched the description well enough. A flower, spouting up out of the ground, a bright yellow to contrast Waterfall's blue.

"It's Flowey, idiot." The snarl of anger felt out of place, especially since it was accompanied by a duck of the head. Flowey kept himself low to the ground, ready to flee at a moments notice. The stem was stiff, and the leaves trembled. Harsh eyes faltered and widened, expression seeing to shift like a liquid rather than a solid. "...did...what did you do to them? They didn't get to the king. What happened?"

"well, you know. we had a talk. they decided to leaf the rest of the underground alone." He winked, and Flowey snorted.

"Right. No, really, what did you..." The once-royal paused, meeting the humans gaze for a long, long moment. He came out a bit more from the ground, straightening up, eyes narrowed. Then, with a gasp, he recoiled, and his face seemed to elongate into a slight snout, leaves curling inward. "You killed them. You killed Chara. That's...that's not..."

The human flinched, and looked away. Sans didn't even need to answer the statement. That liquid face twisted, the flower ducking down again, head bowed.

"They're gone. They're gone..." Flowey said, a murmur under his breath, voice cracking. "I...can't believe they...what they were going to do..."

"they betrayed you, eh, buddy? sounds rough."

"Shut it!" Flower stiffened, the snout disappearing like it was never there, leaving only the flat, noseless face he had before. "You don't understand!"

"don't much care to. listen, kiddo here can't reset the timeline. petal me, pal, why don't you send us back so we can give this another go?"

"Oh, sure, I'll get right to it. Bah, do you really think that if I could go back, I wouldn't have done so already? They're lying."

The human shook their head, motioning rapidly. A request that Sans translate for them.

He watched until they were done, and did so. "they say they aren't lying. when chara died, it seems they took some of their determination with them. they can't reset. as the second most determined being down here, you should be able to do it now."

"I can't!"

"...have you tried? try."

The lights left his sockets, leaving them dark. His tone cold to match the expression. A simple flash of anger, making Flowey flinch.

They had to go back. That was the entire point of fighting them, so the timeline could restart, so no one had to die. So they could all come back. So Papyrus could come back. This timeline couldn't be the final one, over half of the monsters in the entire underground were dust on the floor.

"Tch, fine." Flowey closed his eyes. Concentrating, like what the human did. For several moments. "...I can't."

"why not?" He took a step forward, fingers twitching, a faint glow coiling about his left socket before he thought to stop it.

"I already told you! If I can't reset, then they can! They..."

They struggled free of Sans arms, giving him barely enough time to put them down, least they fall. Once down, they scrambled toward Flowey, kneeling before him. Signing, but given the fact they had their back to him, he'd no idea what it was they were saying. He moved to stand behind the flower instead.

Flowey tensed at being surrounded, but he didn't flee.

"...they're telling you they think you can do it. they believe in you." Like his brother believed in them. Look where that got him. "they want to help you and everyone else but they need you to help them first."

"I told you, I can't! Why do you even care? You don't know the first thing about me!"

"they do. they don't know why you forgot, but they know you. you were the only one left trapped down here. it wasn't fair that you didn't get to be saved, too."

"I think I'd remember if that happened. I never saw you before in my life, and I remember every timeline."

"...apparently you don't."

"I can't go back. If you really can't reset, then what other explanation is there? Just admit it. You're lying. You're having fun with us. Go on. I'd do the same thing. I have done the same thing."

They froze. Hands stopping mid motion. Their eyes stayed on Flowey, fingers shaking. Sans tilted his head, "kid?"

"I'm right, aren't I?" Flowey took on a low, mocking tone, fluffing himself up like a bird.

The human shook their head. Stood, took a step back, only to stumble and hit the ground. They stayed where they sat, gaze trained on the flower.

Sans approached, keeping an ear out for Flowey in case he tried to do anything while his back was turned. "...kid?"

They signed, "He doesn't have determination either."

"...what do you mean?"

"Chara scared him. Chara scared him badly. It must have...neither of us have determination. Neither of us can reset."

These were the only two that had this power.

It hit him, though, in retrospect, he should have seen this coming. He should have seen it the moment he woke up, still in Grillby's.

Silence. It was broken by a sob, torn from the child's throat.

They signed, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I did this. I'm sorry."

Because they were trying to save the flower. Given everything they'd said before, they'd saved everyone else. In another timeline, everyone was safe and happy. Above ground, even. But now...

Everyone was dead, and everyone was staying dead.

"welp. i guess that's it, then."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm-"

He walked away from both human and flower, back turned, to stare out into the rest of Waterfall. The pain of loss seeped down into his bones, a full body ache, echoed in the crying that filled the air behind him.

"H-hey! Don't leave me out of the loop! What's going on!?"

Sans put a hand over his face, eyes closed, jaw clenched.

He didn't say anything for a long, long time.


	6. Chapter 6

He didn't know how long he stood there, listening to them. The flower, complaining about a lack of response, and the human, mourning their far too costly mistake. Eventually, the sobs subsided, though the problem remained. Flowey continued to poke and prod them, growing quieter himself as he grew tired.

And Sans?

He had a hand over his face, eyes closed, surrounded by the dark.

His brother was dead.

This thought came in full focus, sat at the forefront of his mind. Everything he had done up until that point had been for his sake, and for the sake of everyone else in the Underground, for everyone who'd died at Chara's hands. And now...

The loop was broken, all right. No more resets, no more abandoned timelines, but they'd settled on the worst one possible.

What happened now?

Could either of them get their determination back? Would it rebuild over time? Would artificial determination work? He thought back to the experiments back in Alphys's lab, and wondered if the human would face the same issues. They couldn't, could they? Their soul had a flesh and blood casing, they shouldn't turn into an amalgamation. It was more than tempting. He wouldn't even get a fight out of them, he knew, given the guilt they've showed thus far. They'd agree if he suggested it.

And yet...

Would trying to fix it make things worse? Would it just hurt them?

He let out a slow breath. Lowered his hand, opened his eyes. Stared, unseeing, at the wall. Things had gone silent behind him.

He'd done everything he could up until this point to support Papyrus's last words. Now, with a reset proven impossible, at least for the moment...what would his brother want now? Obviously, he wouldn't want to put the kid at risk, considering the fact that it couldn't be undone if the worst case scenario happened.

Sans looked over his shoulder, saw the human laying on their side, and the flower off some distance away, sulking.

Papyrus wouldn't want to see anyone else get hurt. He could imagine the words like they were being said, even now. His brother would encourage the three of them to do better, to try. And...given what the other two were doing right now, they could use something like that.

Movements sluggish, he came forward, and knelt by the human.

"..." It took him a bit to find his voice. To say a word. He put a hand on their arm, putting as much effort as he had to spare into getting the flames in his eyes to stay bright. "...hey. so...now we know what's going on. time to get up, kiddo. We have an underground to rebuild."

They blinked, gaze focusing on him.

"heh...don't look at me like that. its gonna be a lot of work. i'll do my best to help out, but...hey, you know what i'm like when i'm bone-tired, right?"

"...I don't understand."

"we can't reset, so the best we can do is work with what we have."

"What are you talking about? Rebuilding? What's the point of that? Even if we tried, do you really think they're not going to be pissed?" The flower interjected, petals standing on end. He turned his attention to him. Stepped away from the human to approach.

"you're probably right. believe me, i'm inclined to just head to snowdin, drown myself in ketchup, and never leave again. but grillby's stock is almost drained, so might as well work on getting him back so he can refill it."

"...what?"

"oh, and while i have your attention..." He let his eye glow. Let the temperature drop. Flowey flinched. "you killed everyone yourself in your own runs of the underground. you made a game out of it, didn't you? you got bored, and nothing you did had any impact because you could just erase it all. listen here, asriel. if there are no more resets, then anyone you kill is going to stay dead. if you hurt anyone else, you're going to have a really bad time."

"...I know. I'm not an idiot."

"i'll be watching you."

"And what's going to keep the rest of the underground from going after us, huh? Why should we trust you, anyway? Did you forget about the barrier?"

"they have no reason to suspect you. and i'll keep an eye on the kid. i made a promise. i don't like breaking promises. now, the two of you are going to be staying together. if i can't see you, they'd better be able to. okay?"

"..."

"unless you want a bad time right here and now?"

"Okay. Okay, fine."

"good. glad to see you turn over a new leaf. kid..." He went back over to the human, who'd sat up by that point. He dismissed his magic before addressing them. "sitting here on the ground isn't getting much done. come on. we can do this. i believe in you."

They winced. He knew why. He didn't retract the statement.

Slowly, they stood, arms wrapped about themself. Sans regarded them both for a long moment. The late prince and the fallen child. They were children, both of them given something just short of omnipotence and all the responsibility that came with it. With the information he had now, he felt confident in hazarding a guess in both directions. One lost sight of the fact he was playing with real people, the other blamed themself for anything that went wrong, and went on a quest to fix everything.

Considering that last point, he supposed the road to hell really was paved with good intentions. All of this over a flower. Over Asriel.

"i'll take you two back to snowdin, then i'm gonna go to hotland and let them know it's safe to come out. i should talk to the king, too. you two'll get your chance, but for now i gotta make sure they're not gonna try to use you for the barrier."

Alphys will understand, once he explained it to her. Told her what happened. Even if she couldn't remember the fact he used to be a scientist, too, the reason made sense enough.

He offered them both a hand.

"i know a short cut."


	7. Chapter 7

The Underground was never going to be the same.

He knew that going into this, but it didn't soften the blow any. There were so few monsters, and those that were left were tense and angry. Not that he could blame them in the slightest, considering. Still...this was how things were. As he'd told the human and the flower both, they needed to work with what they had.

Alphys and Asgore had their hands full with caring for everyone. The scientists up at the lab made up most of the current population, though there were still a fair few monsters without degrees. Grillby, monster kid and his family, Burgerpants, ect...

Due to the fact there wasn't anyone left in Snowdin, the town was abandoned for the moment. Just as well, he didn't think he could handle living there again, after everything. Instead, most everyone lived in Hotland, though a few kept to Waterfall to avoid the heat. For lack of customers, Grillby moved his restaurant to the entrance of Waterfall. It was a theme the fire monster had kept to for as long as he'd known him, preferring to set up shop in cold climates rather than warm because his flames then served as a contrast. Same reason no one drinks hot chocolate when living upon a river of magma, the entire point of Grillby's was to offer warmth in an otherwise chill area.

Sans and his two charges helped out where they could, although most of his time was spent keeping the other monsters away from them. The human in particular. On top of being the last soul needed to break down the barrier, they also had the dust of several dozen monsters on their hands. Even if it wasn't them, even if it was Chara, the fear and the hate lingered. This seemed to only reinforce Asgore's need to do what his people wanted, which caused a long, long standoff between the king and himself. Sans would not allow the child to be hurt, for multiple reasons.

For one, he made a promise to the lady in the ruins. Now that Chara was gone, that promise still stood.

For another, he kept them safe in the name of his brother. It's what Papyrus would have wanted.

And the third reason, of course.

If they were dead, they couldn't regain their determination. So long as they were alive, there was that chance, however slight it might be, that a reset would one day be possible. Then none of this would ever have happened. No matter how futile his efforts were, he couldn't afford not to try.

Sans never considered himself parent material. Guardian? Sure. Big brother? Definitely. Judge? At times.

But not a parent. Looks like there's a first time for everything.

In essence, he's become their adoptive father. Both of them. Though he's sure Flowey would deny it if he asked. The human, though, kept by his side near constantly, and perhaps, once upon a timeline, they'd filled those rolls well.

They were quiet these days. The guilt hit them hard. He did his best to keep their spirits up, did his best to teach the flower how not to be a bully. Made sure they were fed and comfortable and safe.

The only other monster really on his side was Grillby. He babysat for him now and again, whenever Sans needed a break.

One night, as they sat in the bar, the three of them with their french fries and ketchup, he realized something.

"say, kid...you know, kind of strange to be bringing it up now...but i don't think i ever asked your name."

In the corner of his eye, he saw Flowey look up. Guess he hadn't thought of that, either.

The human signed the letters, "F-R-I-S-K."

"frisk, eh? good to know."

"...Frisk." echoed Flowey.

They nodded.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.


End file.
